Total Solar Eclipse at Stapleton, Nebraska 360 Video Aug 21, 2017

Stapleton, Nebraska was in the direct path of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. The sky was mostly cloudy throughout the morning, but the clouds opened up about 10 minutes before totality to give us an unobstructed view!

This is an unedited 360 degree video, capturing the view starting 2 minutes before totality and ending 30 seconds after totality. Details of the sun are not visible due to the camera settings and lens focal length, but the video does capture much of our experience during the total eclipse.

The camera was set for auto exposure. In real life the sky was darker than depicted in the video but the changing darkness of the ground and horizon seems pretty accurate from what I recall.

For directional bearing, the red building is directly west of the camera.

Here's what you will see:

0:00 Random activity as we wait for totality to begin. Some kids are playing with a drone.

We are looking toward the northwest, away from the sun, hoping to see the approaching shadow. The light at this point is comparable to what you would see through regular sunglasses. You can see the sun high in the sky.

0:45 Hint of sunset to the southwest. During totality look around at the horizon to see the 360 degree sunset where it's not obstructed by the clouds, buildings or other objects.

1:10 More sunset color to the southwest.

1:20 It's getting darker! We didn't see the approaching shadow specifically, but look how rapidly the ground darkens. The sky darkened as well but it's hard to see in the video. The temperature, already cooler during the partial eclipse, dropped noticeably during these remaining seconds leading to totality.

1:30 Sunset to the southwest is very noticeable and has spread to the west.

1:48 Countdown to totality. Watch the light around the sun quickly shrink as totality approaches. The world around us continues to darken rapidly.

1:59 Start of totality (12:53:59 PM local time). Look in the sky to see Venus to the right of the sun, and the kid's drone flying around and buzzing the crowd.

2:05 Sunset colors are visible to the east as well as southwest, west and northwest.

3:20 You can see cars driving with headlights on to the south.

4:00 Sunset colors are more visible to the southeast.

4:20 Sunset appears in the northeast as the clouds on the horizon begin to break.

4:26 Countdown to the end of totality. The diamond ring appears in the upper right section of the sun and brightens rapidly. You can't see the ring in this video but you can see the sun brighten as the ring appears.

4:31 End of totality. Watch how quickly the light returns. The light is somewhat like sunrise, but different.

4:50 Sunset colors are still prominent to the east and southeast

5:00 End of video

Видео Total Solar Eclipse at Stapleton, Nebraska 360 Video Aug 21, 2017 канала alanblip